नाट्यशास्त्रम् (प्रथम भाग - अभिनवभारती एवं हिन्दी टीका सहित)

516 THE NATYASASTRA [ XXVII. 29-

Palpable sources of Blemishes

29-30. Palpable (lit. large) sources of Blemish in a play are : repetition, defective use of compound words (asamāsa), wrong use of case-endings (vibhaktibheda), want of proper euphonic combination (viṣandhi), use of incoherent words (apārtha), faulty use of three genders, confusion between direct and indirect happenings (pratyakṣa-parokṣa-sammoha), lapse in metre, interchange of long and short vowels, and observing wrong caesura¹.

31. Absence of [proper] notes (visvara), of sweetness of notes (viyukta-rāga), and of wealth of notes, and ignorance of voice registers (sthāna) and of tempo (laya) will disturb musical rules [in the production of a play]¹.

32. Non-observance of Sama, Mārga and Mārjana, giving hard strokes¹, and ignorance about the beginning (lit. taking)² and the stopping (mokṣa, lit. release) will spoil the beauty (rasa)³ of the music of drums⁴.

33-36. Omission due to loss of memory, and defective enunciation in the declamation, putting on ornaments in wrong places, falling off of the crown, not putting on any ornament¹, want of hand-movements owing to an ignorance about mounting or

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29-30 (C.30-31, K.30-31). ¹ Actors and actresses at the time of the NŚ. usually being speakers of Middle Indo-Aryan (Prakrit) and not trained scholars, there occured all sorts of lapses in their Sanskritic recitation and declamation. Hence is to be justified the humorous reference to the naṭa (actor) in the following traditional couplet : वैयाकरणकिरातादपशब्दमृगाः क्व यान्ति संत्रस्ताः। ज्यौतिर्नटविटगायकभिषगाननगह्वराणि यदि न स्युः (Haldar, Itihāsa, p. 143). which in trans. is as follows : Where would the vulgarly-used words have gone for fear of hunter-like grammarians, if there were no mouth caves of astrologers, actors, gallants, singers and physicians?

31 (C.32; K.27). ¹ For the technical terms of music used here see NŚ. XXVIII.

32 (C.33; K.29). ¹ bahulaprahāra, K. (kulaprahāraṁ ca. C). ² graha, K. (gṛha, C.). ³ Read rasam for māriṣam, C. and mārṣam, K. ⁴ puṣkaragata, K. (puṣpagata, C). For technical terms of music used here see NŚ. XXXIII.

33-36 (C.34-37; K.33-36). ¹ Read bhūṣaṇāgraham for bhūṣaṇa°.